VERIFY: Portsmouth's vice mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke attacks current mayor Shannon Glover in new ad

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — We continue to Verify claims made in local campaign advertisements. The first campaign ad in the Portsmouth mayoral race has aired where the vice mayor, Lisa Lucas-Burke, attacks the current mayor, Shannon Glover. 

Are the claims in it true?

Let's Verify.

The ad, paid for and approved by Lisa Lucas-Burke, references a lawsuit filed by former city assessor, Patrick Dorris. The suit claims he was fired last year because "he refused to commit unlawful directives from [Mayor] Glover and [Councilman Bill] Moody to not tax the Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club.”

The ad continues with narration about the lawsuit's claims: "The [golf course] owners saved almost a million in taxes and bankrolled Glover's campaign."

So, is that true?

Did the Elizabeth Manor Golf and Country Club's owner donate to Shannon Glover's campaign for Portsmouth mayor?

A check of the Virginia Public Access Project shows that yes, the golf course's owner Dwight Schaubach gave a total of $6,000 to Shannon Glover's 2020 mayoral campaign. 

That was Schaubach's biggest political contribution in 2020. 

But for further context, Schaubach has donated more than $200,000 over the last decade to a number of campaigns. 

The ad concludes: "I am Lisa Lucas-Burke, candidate for mayor, and I sponsored this ad."

Additional Context on the Lawsuit 

Lucas-Burke's ad centers around Dorris's claim that he was unlawfully fired.

But City Council minutes show not only did Lucas-Burke join the mayor in voting to fire the assessor, she seconded the motion to bring it to a vote.

But Councilman Moody and Mayor Glover say the allegations in the lawsuit are "100% false."

Mayor Glover told 13News Now this week: "Under no circumstances have I ever engaged in any activities that have embarrassed my city or my family."

He says attorneys will move to dismiss the case at a hearing in November. 

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